Safe to live downtown? (San Antonio, Alamo: rentals, high crime, house prices)

[runningfromjersey]

Hi,

I'm getting out of Jersey and decided to run to TX. After lots of research I've settled on San Antonio but I'm torn on what neighborhood is the best. I noticed when looking at house rentals in the downtown area that one of the houses had bars on the windows. I've only lived in the suburbs (boring white bread nothing bad goes down here type 'burbs) and around here bars on windows are like a neon sign for "this is a bad neighborhood!!!!" Being that San Antonio is a rather large city I was wondering if this was normal to see or if bars on windows are bad here too?

Also can anyone suggest a good neighborhood? I heard that the east and west sides have more incidents of crime so I've concentrated more of my focus on the north central area but I've noticed that houses seem to be pricier there. Is there a particular neighborhood in the north central area I should focus on? Did I hear wrong about the east and west sides? Any and all help is so, so, so much appreciated. We're trying to get out of Jersey ASAP and the sooner I know where to go the sooner I can get there!!!!

[CelesteDF]

If you've only lived in the "boring white bread suburbs" and you don't want to take on the mantle of an urban pioneer in San Antonio, then I would suggest that you stick with the North Central, Northwest, Far West and Far NE residential areas. You should be able to search this forum and find PLENTY of posts discussing specific developments in these parts of town, along with typical house prices and pros/cons of those developments. I would like to clarify that living downtown is NOT unsafe, and many older homes near downtown still have burglar bars simply because they haven't been renovated/remodeled recently. However, you personally may feel more comfortable in the previously mentioned parts of town. Best of luck in your search and welcome to SA!

[runningfromjersey]

Thanks so much for the info CelesteDF!

[Primo]

Basically all East, West and South sides of SA are high crime areas. You will want to stay East of IH-10, North of 410, and West of 281. I would think if you owned any home in NJ, you won't have any trouble buying the best of homes in SA.

[ShaneSA]

I have to disagree with any blanket statement about areas of the city being "high crime". there is crime all over the city, some areas are worse than others. a blanket statement like that paints a very poor picture of the area.
The bars on windows are basically as stated before, on old houses that have not been upated. they may also be on houses that the owners like the security, evenif it is overboard.
Look in the areas you are talking about. downtown and near north are basically safe, and desirable to some people. those people who od not like those areas generall y wil pan them as bad and dangerous. That's my opinion. and I live near downtown...near north side. Never had a problem.

[Chakapu]

We live in Lavaca -basically downtown. We do have bars on our windows (although they're inside the screens so not so obvious), mainly because we haven't bothered to take them down - we're still in the process of restoring the house. Lots of our neighbors have removed their's. The only reason I'm ok with leaving them up is because I can then happily leave my windows open all day (they're 8ft x 3ft) when I'm not home and not worry about inviting anyone unwanted in... If I didn't have them I'd probably lock the windows - but that's not a neighborhood thing, every house I've been in on the north/nw side has had security alarms with all the windows having to be shut/locked anyway. I like leaving the windows open because it keeps the house cool. At that size it's easy to walk into an open window...but we also have neighbors around who keep an eye out for each other so security really isn't a problem here.

I've known more people who've had robberies on the north/northwest side than in my neighborhood in recent years. 10 years ago it was a bad place to be, and the bars stem from that era. Now it's great.

[Insomniac]

Originally Posted by Primo

Basically all East, West and South sides of SA are high crime areas. You will want to stay East of IH-10, North of 410, and West of 281. I would think if you owned any home in NJ, you won't have any trouble buying the best of homes in SA.

Not having posts like this would greatly increase the quality of posts in the San Antonio forum.

As for answering the OP's question, there isn't a terrible amount of available housing downtown but if you are able to find one, then snap it up quickly. Downtown is quiet safe, but like I said there isn't a big inventory. However you could look at the areas outside of downtown yet still inside the Central Loop. Those areas being Southtown, SoFlo, Lavaca, King William. Also, EastTown though that is just outside the Central Loop.

[Montirob]

Originally Posted by ShaneSA

I have to disagree with any blanket statement about areas of the city being "high crime". there is crime all over the city, some areas are worse than others. a blanket statement like that paints a very poor picture of the area.

EXACTLY! I guess that is why my friends who bought in one of the new "Encino" subdivisions had their car broken into - they live east of 281. Yep, shouldn't have bought that $200k house. (For the OP, the median price of a home in San Antonio is about $160k)

Strange that I've never had a car broken into (knocks on wood). Since I live near downtown, I guess the big front yard fence and mean dogs keep them away... Oh, wait, I don't have any of that. Hmmm, maybe it's because my neighborhood is, well, relatively safe?

For the OP, there are great neighborhoods scattered throughout SA, and some of the most prestigious, i.e. most expensive, just happen to be nearer downtown (see Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Monte Vista, etc. aka zips 78209 and 78212). While I agree with CelesteDF's comments, none of the areas I mentioned require one to be an "urban pioneer." But if you want adventure, there are plenty of other neighborhoods around downtown on the fast track to revitalization. For example, although I consider my personal neighborhood "revitalized", the commercial area around it still needs some work.

[Primo]

Originally Posted by runningfromjersey

Hi,

. I've only lived in the suburbs (boring white bread nothing bad goes down here type 'burbs) and around here bars on windows are like a neon sign for "this is a bad neighborhood!!!!"

I think it is all relative. If you are used to those types of suburbs with no grafitti, Starbucks on every corner, and landscaped yards, I suggest you look for neighborhoods like that. If you see burglar bars, spray paint, fences around front yards, thugs on every corner, then I think you can make your own assumptions. Another thing to take into consderation is publics school, if you have kids, you don't want to send them to any public school near downtown....My opinion. But again, I think you can take one look at a high school and determine if it is right for your family.

[runningfromjersey]

Thanks for all the replies! There seems to be so many great places to live I'm having a hard time narrowing the field lol.